Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses, information processing apparatuses and control methods thereof, and storage media that store programs.
Description of the Related Art
When executing multiple print jobs, there are cases where a user wishes to change the execution order of print jobs that have already been instructed to be printed. In such cases, the user has conventionally changed the order of the multiple print jobs by first canceling the original printing instructions and then reissuing the printing instructions according to the desired printing order. Alternatively, a user has changed printing orders by setting a print job that is to be placed earlier in the printing order as an interrupt job, with that print job then being executed before print jobs for which printing instructions have already been made.
However, with the former method, in which all the print jobs are canceled and the printing instructions are then reissued, it is necessary to carry out complicated procedures, operations for switching among screens, and so on. On the other hand, with the latter method in which a specific print job is placed earlier in the execution order using an interrupt job, it is necessary to take into consideration a variety of factors such as the properties of the interrupt job, the timing at which the interrupt job is to be executed, and so on, which has made it difficult to change the printing order according to the user's intentions.
Accordingly, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-63004 discloses a method through which a user more intuitively changes the execution order of print jobs. According to this method, a user changes the order of print jobs by dragging and dropping print jobs in a print job list displayed in a touch panel, which enables the user to change the print job execution order.
This conventional technique makes it possible to intuitively change the execution order of print jobs. However, changes in the printing conditions, such as the start time and end time of the print job, changes in productivity arising due to jobs in front of and behind the print job being changed, and so on cannot be known until the print job itself is actually executed. The user has thus been forced to change the print job execution order by using his or her experience or instinct to predict or imagine how the printing conditions will change in response to a change in the print job execution order. As a result, changing the print job execution order has had the potential to produce printing conditions that the user did not expect.